


Too human

by TheIceQueen



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angelic Grace, Angst, Awesome Sam Winchester, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Bedside Hand-Holding, Blood, Coughing, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Forehead Kisses, Gen, Helpless Castiel (Supernatural), Holding Hands, Hurt/Comfort, Jack Feels, Medical, Men Crying, Needles, Pain, Protective Dean Winchester, Protectiveness, Recovery, Sick Character, Sick Jack Kline, Sickfic, Unconsciousness, Worried Castiel, Worried Dean Winchester, Worried Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-16 23:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16504997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIceQueen/pseuds/TheIceQueen
Summary: After episode 14x3 The ScarJack is getting worse fast and can't hide that he's coughing up blood from a very worried Cas.





	1. Protected

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for my Bad Things Happen bingo card. @reinavalerianox sent me the prompt: Coughing up blood, and asked me to continue where the episode ended.

Sam and Dean didn’t have to know. Sam would get all protective and worried and Dean would get angry at everything because once again things went to crap. Bobby didn’t have to know; he already thought he was just a week kid who they had to take care of. Cas especially didn’t have to know. They were finally getting to know each other, finally getting the time they needed to figure out what they were, what they could be. This would only add to everyone’s problems. No one needed to know.

Jack threw yet another piece of bloody paper in the trash-can. The can was filled enough that it could bee seen from across the room now, so when there was a knock on the door he swiftly pushed it under the table.

“How’re you feeling?” Cas’s head popped in from behind the door.

Jack cleared his throat as quiet as possible and sat up in the bed, turning himself towards the door. “Okay. Not worse than half an hour ago.”

Cas smiled and seemed to understand the hint of him acting like an overprotective father. He came in and placed a bowl of soup on the night-stand, and pulled over a chair. Cas’s did a horrible job of hiding the worried look on his face. Jack knew that this wasn’t just a cold and he could see that Cas was dangerously close to figuring that out for himself.

“Do you have a fever?”

“I…” Jack’s throat got tighter and the air moving through it irritated him. He needed to cough, but didn’t want to upset Cas further. “I…” He swallowed a couple of times. “…don’t think so.”

The small frown on Cas’s forehead grew deeper. Jack tried to clear his throat again, but the pained pressure in his chest expanded and he ended up in a couching fit, that might have been shorter if he didn’t had to stop and swallow, what he was sure was blood, a few times during.

“Jack…?”

Jack held a hand up and hoped that Cas would take it as a gesture to wait. When he finally got his breathing under control again, he quickly wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, and was happy to see that nothing had made its way out. Not wanting to talk anymore he took the bowl. He wasn’t hungry, hadn’t been for days, but maybe the warmth would help with his throat.

The investigative look Cas followed him with, as he put the spoon to his mouth, made him concentrate even more to act like it was nothing.

Swallowing sent him over the edge and if Cas hadn’t acted so fast in grabbing the bowl, the soup would have ended up all over the bed. Jack’s chest hurt like it was angry at him for holding back and now was taking its revenge by tearing his lungs apart from the inside. One hand was covering his mouth and the other were holding tight on to the mattress, to stop him from rolling of the bed.

A firm hand was on his back and even in the worst pain he’d experienced, since becoming human, he sensed Cas sitting on the mattress next to him.

“You _do_ have a fever.” It was mostly a statement to himself, but Cas’s words reached Jack clearly.

He let go of the mattress and wrapped his arm across his chest. Cas held him now. He could concentrate on breathing and it was possible for him to conquer the fit. Jack tried to hide it, but Cas lifted his hand and looked from the blood to Jack’s eyes and back. In a split-second, the worried look was replaced with straight up fear.

“Why…? Jack, why didn’t you say something?”

Quickly, Jack grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and wiped his hand. “It’s not that bad.”

A strong hand clutched his shoulder. “It’s blood. You have to know that’s not a normal cold.”

Jack looked down and just nodded quietly. It wasn’t that he didn’t know, he just wanted to deal with it alone.

“How long has this been going on?”

Jack locked his jaw. If he told Cas the truth he might get angry that he’d kept this from him, or worse he would be hurt that Jack hadn’t asked for help.

“How long?!” Cas stood up, still with his hand fixed on Jack’s shoulder.

Trying to hold back both coughing and the shaking of his voice Jack just looked at the bucket under the table. Cas walked around the bed and picked it up. Jack didn’t look at him, but he felt the surprise and fear in Cas’s eyes burning holes in him.

“Do you have any idea of what this is?”

Jack shook his head.

“We need to figure this out. We need to call Sam and Dean.”

“No!” Jack looked at a surprised Cas. “I’ll be fine.”

The sigh from Cas, didn’t help Jack feeling less cornered as the Angle hunched down in front of him. Cas bit his lip and hesitated. Was he not sure what to do?

“I’ve hidden things from them before. Trust me when I say that it’s better after they know…” Cas laid his hand on top of Jack’s. “…and they´ll always know somehow, anyway.”

Looking at Cas, Jack knew that there was no possible way he could keep this to himself anymore. Soon they would all know. Soon everyone would be lining up to feel sorry for their quite little puppy. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him, he just wanted to help. He wanted to be just half as good as any hunter in the bunker.

* * *

Cas had left the room to call Sam, Jack didn’t want to hear that conversation anyway. He was pretty sure how it would go.

Right in the middle of a bad coughing fit, one of the worst he’d had so far, he didn’t notice Cas coming back in before a calm hand was rubbing his back.

As the burning red flames in his chest slowly ceased, Jack found himself leaning into Cas’s embrace. He felt the warmth and support from the arm around his back while clinging desperately to Cas’s other arm placed tightly over his chest. Half gasping for air, half trying to hold his breath not to start all over, Jack let his head fall heavy on Cas’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. Jack, I’m so sorry.”

There was something more than just pity or concern in Cas’s voice. Jack didn’t understand. Cas’s sounded like he was to blame for this. “Cas…? You’re…”

A small cough broke through and Jack froze in fear of it starting again. Cas’s grip tightened around him. He took a slow, controlled breath and tried again.

“It’s not your fault.”

The firm hold he was in got somehow rigid and Cas’s breaths more strained. Jack pushed away and looked at him. Cas looked away quick and grabbed a tissue for Jack to wipe his mouth. As he did so, he kept looking at the angel, wondering how long he would have to before getting an answer.

Cas took the paper form Jack’s hands and threw it in the trash. With his back turned he looked down. “I should be able to help you.”

They had established quite some time ago, that even though Jack could heal himself when he had his powers and Cas could heal everyone else from most anything, Cas’s powers didn’t help Jack with even a bruise.

“Castiel…” Jack waited for Cas to turn and look at him. “…you _are_ helping.”

Everything was better when Cas was there. He wasn’t afraid to fall out of bed with every cough and just to have someone to share this secret with, even though it wasn’t a secret anymore, was making his head clearer. He could breathe a little easier.

“I’m not doing enough. We both know that.” Cas sat down on the edge of the mattress and gestured for Jack to lie down. The warmth of the blanket Cas placed over him reminded him that feeling this cold was probably not normal.

Lying on his side, Jack took Cas’s hand in both of his and held it tight. Not as tight as he would have wanted to, but he was tired. “You are.”

A light turned on in Cas’s eyes. He got up and disappeared, only to flash back in a second.

“Cas?”

Confused, Jack looked at the syringe, slightly shaking in Cas’s hand and the angel blade in the other.

Cas sat down calmly, but it did nothing to still Jack’s heartbeat, just the opposite. That needle was even bigger up close.

“Maybe my grace isn’t strong enough to heal you when _I_ use it, but it might be enough if _you_ do.” Not waiting for Jack to respond, Cas slid the blade over his wrist, leaving a small gash. His grace dribbled in a slow pace so he managed to draw it in to the syringe.

The determined look on Cas’s face made Jack feel anxious and protected at the same time. Cas healed himself and moved a little closer.

“Wait. Cas…” Jack took Cas’s wrist, holding the needle at a distance.

Cas relaxed his arm and didn’t fight Jack. He looked sad. Jack wondered how much of a long shot this really was. It made sense. It could work, but if it didn’t Cas would hate himself even more for not being able to safe him.

“I’ve done this before Jack. Well, not exactly. I extracted graze from Sam the same way.” Cas’s free hand brushed over Jack’s sweaty forehead and through his damp hair. “I’m afraid this will hurt. I’m sorry.”

There were no doubt in Jack’s mind that Cas had made his mind up, and somehow Jack was okay with the pain, as long as Cas was the one in control. He let go of Cas’s arm and took a deep breath, careful not to provoke a coughing fit. He was sure he would end up passing out the next time.

Cas turned Jack’s head away from him and the hand on Jack’s neck was almost not shaking. He heard Cas take a deep breath and then a sharp pain entered just below his ear. Afraid to move, he bored his fingers into the mattress and focused on the wall-lamp next to the door.

The needle stopped moving.

“Jack…?”

“I’m…” He cleared his throat without moving. “I’m good.”

Castiel moved his free hand higher to Jack’s jaw, holding his head still. “Hang in there. It will be quick.”

The burning was too much even in the first second. When it spread into his head he locked his jaw afraid to throw up. There were no room for the pain. Helpless, he felt his body tense and his breathing speeding up.

“Ca… C…”

“It’s okay Jack. It’s almost over.”

Right before the pain seized, Jack lost his sight. He felt both Cas’s hands on his face before his lungs took over and the coughing started.

* * *

The voices and the light from the hallway woke him up.

“Are we sure it’s not something from that witch?”

“He’s been sleeping for three hours, Dean. I’ve tested everything, used every spell to detect magic. There’s nothing… I don’t know what this is. His fever is worse.”

Cas sounded desperate, sad even.

“What if…” Sam paused and Jack listened closer. “You can’t heal him, right?”

“No, I can’t.” Cas was barely speaking loud enough for Jack to hear. “My grace did nothing.”

“Hey… hey. Cas. We’ll figure this out.”

“Sure. Dean. I know.” Jack wasn’t sure Cas believed Dean.

“Listen. Cas. It might be a good thing…”

Jack had often found it amusing to see how Sam tells parts of the conclusion and holding of on telling the whole story till after people are confused or worse; angry. This time however, he would like for him to get to the good part, for right now he didn’t see it. His lungs were building up to yet another fit and he wasn’t sure he could handle that.

“Just tell us what you’re getting at.”

“Dean. If Cas can’t heal him, it might mean that he’s warded against magic. Angels, witches, demons… anything supernatural.”

“Okay, let’s say that’s true. How the hell is that a good thing?!” Dean was getting angry. Jack used to hate Dean when he was angry, but he’d come to realize that more than often his anger came from fear. Jack understood fear.

“It’s a good thing because…” Jack could hear Sam’s deep breath, trying to calm himself. “…it means that what he has is a normal _human_ illness. We just need to figure out what it is and we can get him the right treatment.”

Jack had never been sick before, so telling the difference between his body fighting off something supernatural or some human disease, was not in his skill set. He just knew that he was hot, sweating, and hadn’t eaten in days. And of course, there was his heavy lungs which resulted in him gasping for air and coughing for ten minutes straight, and left him with a chest burning from the inside and blood in his mouth.

His airway got narrow again and he only just managed to grab a tissue before his body curled up into a ball and his lungs fought to climb their way out.

“Jack!”

He only managed to open his eyes for a second, but it didn’t matter. He already knew that Cas was kneeling down in front of him and that it was his hands on his head and shoulder. Jack took hold of Cas’s forearm, making sure he wouldn’t disappear.

A big palm was wrapped around his. “It’s okay, Jack. Breathe deep.” Sam had always been a calm comfort to Jack when he needed it, and he needed it now. “We’ll figure this out…”

The hand left and between coughing, gagging and trying to not let the pain pull him into tears, he felt something shift behind him. A warm, secure hand took his from Cas’s arm and held it firm while another settled between his shoulder blades.

“D-De…”

“It’s sucks, I know. Don’t speak. Just take your time.”

As his coughing seized again, he felt the fatigue in is muscles and the difficulty to concentrate on anything but breathing. He kept his eyes closed, afraid that he would pass out if he opened them.

The hand slowly rubbing his back became lighter and when it left, Dean placed Jack’s hand on the mattress for Cas to take.

“Don’t… Dean…” Jack tried to lift his head in the direction of the door but failed. He wondered for a moment how the room could spin around when his eyes were closed.

“Cas will be here. I’ll help Sam, he’s probably already converted the bunker into a research center. Don’t worry. You’ve got the biggest brain I know of and his minions on this. I’ll go swing the whip.”

The movement of Cas’s hand in his hair when the door closed, reassured him that he would not be left alone and when Cas asked him something he didn’t hear, he only managed to squeeze his hand a little before he was lost to the world again.


	2. Working the case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a super short chapter. I wanted to give some room for us to see things from Cas's point of view.

Something important froze inside of Cas when he lost contact with Jack. Having the boy’s hand in his, go limp so fast, was a painful reminder that an angel can’t fix everything.

How long he sat on his knees next to the bed, before Mary came in, he didn’t know.

“Castiel?”

He turned and looked at two worried faces.

“You should go help out. We’ll stay.” Mary wrapped her arms around Maggie’s shoulders and walked slowly into the room.

“I… I don’t…” Cas looked from the women to the lifeless boy and back. He wanted to help, he needed to fix this, but he couldn’t leave him. Just thinking about walking out that door brought tears to his eyes.

“Castiel…” Mary walked over and resolutely pulled Cas to his feet. She hugged him and then looked him straight in the eye. “Cas. We’ll stay. When he wakes up or if anything changes, Maggie will come get you.”

Mary was right. If they were searching for a disease they needed information he knew better than them. He nodded and Mary let go of his shoulders.

Jack looked small. He looked weak. Cas had been able to feel the power from the Nephilim and had never seen him as just a kid. He had a lot to learn for sure, but Cas knew how strong Jack was before he was born. With shaking hand’s he pulled the blanket to the shivering boy’s chin. He didn’t care what the women in the room might think as he kissed his son on the forehead.

* * *

No one noticed him entering the buzzing library at first. Everyone was working, filling their role, just as when they had gotten a big lead.

“Cas.”

Dean’s hand was on his shoulder and Cas nearly caved under the weight.

“Any change?”

Cas shook his head and tried to make sense of the mayhem unfolding in front of him.

“Okay.” Dean squeezed Cas’s shoulder but then took his wrist and pulled him to a whiteboard, almost covered in writhing. “Cas. Sam has split everyone into pairs and one is searching for… conditions and the other will find treatments for that till the first find one that fits the symptoms better. Every disease is written here so they don’t overlap.”

Cas knew that Dean had been struggling with so may people living under the same roof as him, but it seemed as he was happy to have the resource now.

“The symptoms are over there.” Dean pointed to another whiteboard. “Can you add something? It’s a bit vague.”

Cas walked to the board and read _fever_ and _coughing up blood_. Without talking he added … _over 104.5F_ and wrote _fatigue, sweating, chills, chest-pain_ and _loss of appetite for at least three days._

He handed Dean the pen and walked to one of the laptops not in use.

“Cas…? You just know this?”

“Yes. I felt the fever. The rest I have just… noticed.”

“He hasn’t eaten?”

Cas hated himself for not reacting at that sign. He had seen it. He knew it wasn’t normal for Jack not to eat, but with Dean being gone and then suddenly back, not quite acting like himself, Cas hat thought it was just a phase.

“Hey, Cas.” Sam came over and handed Cas a piece of paper with a few medical-looking words on it. “Can you get this at a hospital? With it we can test for a few things ourselves.”

Cas read the paper. “It will take some time to locate all of it. I don’t recognize the names.”

“Castiel!” Maggie came running in. “Jack is… ehm…”

“What?!” It didn’t take more than a second for Cas’s knees to start shaking.

“I’m not sure if he’s waking up or getting worse. He’s moving and... coughing a bit, I guess.”

Cas took a step towards the hallway, but Dean stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll go. You get these things. It’ll be quicker.”

Every cell in Cas’s body drew him towards Jack, but Dean was right, it would take too long for anyone else to get it, and clearly Jack couldn’t wait for that. With tears burning in his eyes Cas nodded at Dean and with a powerful wing beat he’d left.


	3. The coach, the doctor and the dad

When Jack started to see small lines of light it felt like someone was sitting on his chest and his throat was painfully sore. He tried coughing, but his body was too tired to cooperate and it only became a small raw burst of air.

“Jack? Are you awake?”

“Sa…” Jack’s lungs tried to clear again, but still it wasn’t real coughs coming through.

“Don’t speak.” Dean was on the other side of him. “Take your time to open your eyes.”

“Dea… De…?” Jack couldn’t press the air trough fast enough so that it would make a real sound.

A hand landed on his shoulder and a shadow, that must have been Dean came closer. “Hey. I said don’t talk.”

A few more sharp bursts of air surfaced while Jack finally opened his eyes. Sam was sitting on a chair next to the bed and Dean was standing on the other side, leaning over him. The line in his forehead resembled Sam’s when he was worried. Jack had never seen Dean’s that deep. He tried smiling at the older Winchester, but wasn’t sure it got through.

“C-Ca… C…?”

“Cas is picking up a few things, he’ll be here any second. You stop talking, now.”

This time he was coughing. Not violently like before, but small ones that didn’t do any good. He couldn’t stop though and when Dean sat down, and looked at Sam, like he was the only one who could fix it and Sam didn’t move, Jack had to believe that this was just his new way of breathing. Every breath provoked his lungs and came out in harsh bursts that pained his throat even more.

“Do we have oxygen?” Dean sounded like he was grasping at straws.

Sam squeezed Jack’s hand in his. Jack hadn’t noticed that Sam was even holding it. “Cas is bringing back a tank for it.” He nodded towards the dresser, which Jack didn’t felt up to turning at.

Dean looked at it and nodded. “Okay.” He leaned in. One elbow on his knee. “You’ll be fine. Just take it easy.”

With the fatigue, the constant almost-coughing and the pain it brought with it, Jack didn’t see how _taking it easy_ was in the cards. He tried though. He held Sam’s hand a little tighter and closed his eyes.

* * *

The sound of Cas’s wings shocked him at first, but Sam’s hand left and when Jack opened his eyes Cas was sitting on the mattress next to him.

His hair was all rowdy and the collar on his coat was half folded up. He looked from Dean and to somewhere else, Sam must be in that part of the room, and back to Jack.

“How long had he been awake? Has he been coughing like this the entire time? How… has… has he said anything?”

Jack wanted to say something. To make sure that Cas knew that he could talk, but every attempt got lost in coughs that just got more profound when he tried.

Dean’s hand on his shoulder tightened. “It’s okay Jack. Don’t try. Cas…” He looked at the pale angel. “He’s just woken up, but he was coughing like this in his sleep too. He’s tried to talk, but it only makes it worse.”

Cas’s face crumbling with added concern was interrupted by Sam placing his big palm in Jack’s hair.

“Here. This will help.”

Something moved over his face and Jack felt trapped. Dean was on his shoulder, Sam on his head, he could only disappear towards Cas. Cas wasn’t a wall closing in, he was a safe place where he could hide. He found Cas’s hand and too weak to do much he tried to pull himself towards him.

Cas held tight and placed his other hand on Jack’s cheek. “Let Sam help you. He knows what he’s doing.”

Jack wasn’t sure he believed that to be true, but he had to trust Cas. He looked at Sam hand nodded the best he could with his head already moving too much with the breathing being so difficult.

The mask didn’t help with the coughs and it was still hurting to breathe, but he got a little more awake and could see the room and the people in it better. Sam was working on something in the corner and Dean was following his every move, from the chair next to the bed. Cas was only looking at Jack. He was holding his hand lightly and rubbing the back of it and his forearm with his other hand. He could see the mask over his mouth and nose filling with white fog when ever he coughed or breathed out.

When Sam came over with quite a few things on a little tray, Cas’s hand stopped moving and he held Jack’s firmly in both of his.

“We need to figure out what this is.” Sam pulled the chair next to Cas closer to Jack’s head and sat down slowly.

He placed the tray on the nightstand and Jack turned to look. There was needles on there. When Cas had used that needle to give him his grace, Jack had decided that he didn’t like needles. He shook his head and tried desperately to use his eyes to reason with all the guys in the room one by one.

“It’s okay Jack. I’ll make it quick.” Sam picked up the first one and gestured for Cas to give him Jack’s arm.

Jack shook his head more and his breathing spiked and made the coughs worse.

“Hey, Sam.” Dean broke in before they was starting a fight that Jack would certainly loose. “Take this arm, I’m not sure it’s safe to try to separate the two of them.”

Sam looked at Cas and Jack’s eyes followed. Cas’s face was firm and determined. He looked exactly like he always did before he walks into a fight. Sam moved silently and Cas let blood flow into Jack’s fingers again.

Dean took Jack’s hand and held out his arm. He didn’t let go when Sam got closer. Jack’s arm was locked in his grip.

“I’m taking some blood. Just lay still. Look at Cas.” Sam sounded sorry, but Jack’s eyes was watering so he couldn’t see if the face matched.

Cas turned his head by his chin. “Look at me.”

Jack’s breathing was still too fast and his coughs were out of control. If he’d had the strength to cough properly, he would have sprayed a ten ounces of blood by now.

Somehow there was a calming smile shining though Cas’s concerned eyes. “This is a small needle. Don’t worry.”

Jack had seen it on the tray, but he had been more occupied with the fact that there was three than how big they were. Cas nodded to Sam. Dean’s hand tightened around his, but Jack wasn’t going to move anyway. Not on purpose.

He hardly felt the pinch in his arm and when Sam called Mary in to give her the blood, he hadn’t even realized that it was over.

“You have the address?” Sam put a hand on Mary’s shoulder, when she froze and looked at Jack. Jack had never seen her so sad looking. He must have been looking as bad as he felt, or worse.

Mary nodded. “I’ll go myself but…” She looked at Cas, who hadn’t seemed to register that she was even in the room.

“I think Cas will do better here. We won’t get a result on the other test for twenty-four hours anyway.”

Jack didn’t like the promise of more tests, he would like for them all to stop working and figuring things out. It was exhausting. Cas was still, close, just there, like Jack would want everyone to do right now, but accepting things as they are, is not a part of the Winchester’s skill set.

Sam came over with something that looked a lot like the needle from before and Jack calmed down a little. That had been fine. He wondered what happened when Dean turned his hand, palm down, and Sam cleaned the back of it, but Cas held Jack’s face turned towards him and before catching up the needle entered his skin. Surprised that it hurt more than before he pulled his hand back, but Dean held it still and Jack wasn’t even at half strength, so nothing moved. Except his chest.

“Calm down.” Dean grabbed his shoulder firmly. “Breathe it’s already done.”

“Okay Jack. I’ve hooked you up to an IV. It’s the best we can do to make you feel better, so far. I’ll add something for the pain and it will also help knocking the fever down.”

The constant, little, useless coughs were getting weaker. His hands got weaker and he had trouble seeing the people around him. It scared him to death that Cas was getting blurry and would definitely soon vanish. He tried squeezing his hand but wasn’t sure he moved at all. His breathing was getting louder and his chest, hurt more than ever.

A soft, slightly shaky hand brushed a tear, he hadn’t even noticed, from his cheek and the blur that was Cas came closer. “Jack. It will be okay. You will be fine.”

Of course Jack wanted to get better, and of course it scared him that he might not, but that wasn’t the thing than pushed him over the edge.

“C-Ca…” A coughing fit took over and everything disappeared in pain and lack of air. Three pair of hands rolled him to his side and held him there. Both of his own were wrapped around Cas’s wrist.

“Okay, okay. Just take it easy.” Dean’s voice came through clear but there was only so much Jack could do. He just had to ride this out.

When they rolled him back, limp and gasping he was almost blind from green and orange clouds covering his sight. “Ca…?”

“Jack. Don’t speak. We’re all here to help you.” Cas took both Jack’s hands and held them in his. “We will stay… I will stay here.”

The panic left like a heavy and too hot blanket was pulled off him. He closed his eyes and nodded, trying to smile.

He felt the mattress dip on the other side. Sam must have sat down again. “Last thing and I’ll leave you alone. I need to inject this in your arm, but you don’t have to move if you want to still hold on to Cas.”

There was no way he was moving. He wasn’t sure he could anyway. Apart from the involuntary coughs and wheezes his body was lifeless.

“Okay. It’s a small one, but it might sting. I’ll be quick about it.”

Something cold rubbed on his inner forearm and Cas’s hands held tighter. Dean’s hand was back on his shoulder the same second the sharp metal pierced his skin. It wasn’t bad at first but soon the liquid burned just beneath his skin and he couldn’t help the speed of his breathing going up again.

Suddenly, Sam’s hands were gone and so was Dean’s. Jack expected Cas’s to be gone any second too, but they stayed. Cas was still there. Slowly the pain in his arm subsided and eventually he realized that they had nothing to do but wait now. This was what he wanted. Why then, was it even harder than being the patient?

* * *

“You okay here for a sec? I’ll go see if the other’s have thought of anything else.”

Jack saw the outline of Cas nod at Sam, and then both brothers left.

A loud crash startled both Cas and Jack.

“Dean!” Sam had clearly been shocked too.

“What?!” The voice Dean was using was angry and raw. Not like the calm and collected man he’d been just minutes ago.

There was a pause, where Jack only heard his coughs and wondered if they were talking so low that he was covering it with wheezes.

“Did you break it?” Sam had calmed down significantly and sounded almost sorry for Dean.

“My hand is fine, Sam.”

“Sure…”

“I hate that we can’t take him to a hospital.” Dean hissed. Maybe his hand wasn’t completely fine.

“Yeah me too. But we might not be able to help him there if it’s not just a human thing after all.”

Dean’s footsteps moved down the hall and a few seconds later Sam’s led the other way.


	4. The long wait

For how long he had been sleeping, or at least trying to, Jack didn’t know. He would make those small pitiful coughs that did nothing for him anyway and eventually he would get lightheaded enough that he’d relax. He never knew how long he was gone at a time, but every time he opened his eyes Cas was there. Sam or Dean would be there too. Never at the same time, but one of them was always there. This time Sam was there. It looked as if he was observing Cas just as much as him.

Jack’s chest was hurting more and he was starting to wonder if it was the pain or his lungs that made it so difficult to breathe. He turned his head and looked at the older angel, failing to hide the added pain in doing so.

“Jack…? Do you need water?”

He didn’t want anything that involved any effort from him and he only managed a whisper. “No…” He didn’t think the sound made it out of his oxugen-mask.

“Jack?” Sam’s voice was soft and even though Jack didn’t look at him he understood that he moved slowly when coming closer.

“Sam…” Jack tried to turn his head again, but he froze as the burning of his chest spiked to cover his entire torso.

A large palm landed on Jack’s free hand. “Shh. Don’t… Just tell me. Do you need more for the pain?”

Jack calmed himself and decided against nodding and squeezed Sam’s hand the best he could instead.

“Okay. Hang in there.” Sam lifted his hand and did something with the attachment on the back of it. “It’ll work soon.”

Jack had no problem believing Sam. It wasn’t the first time that night he’d done it. Jack just didn’t know how many now. This time was different however; Sam was still holding his arm.

“Sam?” Cas must have noticed it too. “What is it?”

Jack slowly felt his arm being turned so he had his palm up. Sam brushed his fingers over the thin skin of Jack’s inner forearm. Jack wanted to turn and see, but the painkillers were at that point where everything was woozy but the pain not gone yet.

Sam kept concentrating on the same spot. Jack could feel it slightly burning when he toughed it, but nothing he’d think twice about with everything else going on.

“Dean!” Sam stood up and yelled over Cas’s head. “Dean, get in here!”

“Sam tell me!” Cas’s hand was shaking in Jack’s.

This wasn’t good. This had to be really bad. Worse than not knowing. Cas was scared and Sam clearly wanted Dean in here fast.

Dean almost came flying through the door. “What?”

“Take a look at this.”

Sam lifted Jack’s arm again and held something up next to it. It was getting easier to move with the pain lessening and Jack turned his head and focused on the brothers’ frowned foreheads.

“Didn’t you say that this would take twenty-four to forty-two hours?”

“Yeah.” Sam placed Jack’s arm on the mattress and stepped back.

“Sam?” Every single nerve in Jack’s body helped make that word loud enough to break through the mask so the brothers understood that he needed answers.

Sam pushed Dean forward and rushed for the door. “I need to make a call.”

Dean sat down on the chair next to the bed. Jack could her his own heart beating when the older Winchester laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Remember the thing Sam injected into your arm? It’s a test that would take at least a day to react. The weird thing is that’s only been…”

“Sixteen hours and forty-two minutes.”

Dean nodded at Cas. “Sam is better to figure out these things than me, but maybe you just have a severe case or maybe you are just reacting different with the whole angel-not-angel thing.”

The fatigue from the coughing and the pain, and the drowsiness from the pain medicine made it hard to follow what Dean had said, but for him it all came down to if this could be treated. He shook his head and Cas understood that he needed the mask off so he could talk.

“So…” Instinctively, Jack’s other hand found Cas’s too and Cas held them both tight. “What do I have?”

Sam came through the door. “TB… Tuberculosis.” He walked to stand next to Cas. He didn’t look as worried as before. “It’s treatable. You need antibiotics and the doctor I talked to thought it would be best to start as soon as possible, with the test being so strong.”

Can placed the mask back over Jack’s nose and mouth. “He will get better then?” Cas’s voice made it clear that he wasn’t as easily convinced.

Sam put a hand on the angel’s shoulder. “It’s the best bet we have right now, but it’s a good bet… Cas. It’s something we can work with.”

Cas nodded at Sam and looked back at Jack, still looking just as scared, that Jack would slip through his fingers, as Jack was that Cas would disappear for his eyes.

“Cas. You need to go get the medicine. The doctor knows the circumstances and won’t be too surprised to see you poop out of nothing.”

“No. Wait…” Jack couldn’t let go of Cas. He’d been his anchor for so long now that loosing that, loosing him, would surely mean that he couldn’t hold on anymore.

Cas leaned in and brushed his hand through Jack’s damp hair. “I won’t be gone long. You need this fast.”

“I can’t… Cas…” Jack was talking too much and too loud to get through the mask. He was breathing too fast. Soon he would start coughing and then he would pass out and then Cas wouldn’t be here when he woke up and…

“Jack!”

Jack froze and looked at Dean.

“Sam and I will be here. It won’t take long. Calm down.”

He tried taking one of Jack’s hands from Cas, but weak as he was, Jack could still hang on to his father. Another pair of hands joined in. Calm and collected, Sam covered Jack’s hands holding Cas’s and slowly moved between them.

“No…” Jack was loosing the fight and tears were welling up in his eyes. “…Sam, please.”

“We don’t have the right medicine here. Cas is the fastest, you know that.”

Dean got one of Jack’s hands free from the knot and sat down on the edge of the mattress opposite from Cas. “Jack. Look at me.”

Cas nodded for him to do as told and Jack bit his lower lip and tried his best to not make the raw breathing and small coughs turn into a huge fit as he turned his head slightly and looked at Dean.

“You need Cas to be here when you fall asleep, right?”

Jack swallowed and nodded.

“You need him to what…? To make sure you wake up again?”

Jacks eyes overflowed as he nodded a second time. He knew it didn’t make any sense, no one could help him, not even Cas, but having him hold his hand, made it seem like he didn’t let go completely when he fell asleep.

“Okay. So you don’t sleep. It won’t be that long. Ten minutes tops, you can do that.” Dean took Jack’s chin and made sure they had eye-contact, even through the tears. “Just don’t panic and pass out. Calm down.”

Jack gasped a few times to get his breathing back under control and then nodded. The mattress shifted and the last of Cas’s hands were gone. Replaced by both of Sam’s.

“I’ll hurry.” Cas stood next to Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Cas looked at both brothers and then he turned to Jack again. He brushed a hand through his hair and placed he other on his cheek.

“You will be fine. These are good guys.”

He leaned down and kissed Jack on the forehead and then he was gone.

The absence of Cas left the room cold. He suddenly felt like he was fading away and had nothing to keep him there. Desperately he held on to the four hands around his two.

“It’s okay. Jack we’re still here. Jack, can you look at me?”

Jack looked at Sam. He looked so worried. Dean did too. He was making it all worse. He’d wanted to deal with this on his own and now he was basically losing his mind. He tried taking his hand from Dean to take of his mask, but Dean didn’t let him. He understood though and took it of him.

“I’m not crazy. I’m sorry. I…”

“Hey, hey.” Sam put one of his hands on Jack’s shoulder, making himself sit a little closer. “We know you’re not crazy. Being sick is…”

“Horrible.” Dean put the mask back on and used both hands to hold Jack’s again. “It’s horrible and we all go a bit crazy. Jack. You’re pumped full of painkillers, you’re not getting enough oxygen and you haven’t eaten or slept properly for days. Of course everything is freaking you out right now.”

Sam’s thumb were rubbing his shoulder firmly, the grip on his hands weren’t going anywhere and the brothers were looking at him in a way that made him feel safe. Slowly, he relaxed into the pillow. Not enough to sleep, he was still able to fight the coughs and when not panicking he was able to get enough air at least for long enough that Cas had returned.

* * *

It only took Cas six minutes to return to the room. He handed Sam a box and as the taller Winchester let go of Jack’s hand and stood up, Cas took his place.

“What now?” Cas didn’t waist any time to get settled again.

Sam unpacked quite a few bags with fluid. “I’ll hook this up to the IV. We need these two and then we’ll hang the others when they have run through.”

All the medical stuff spread over the night-stand again was unsettling Jack’s stomach. He still didn’t understand completely. As Sam turned to him, he held on tighter to Dean and shifted to get away.

“I’m just changing the tube. Not the one in your hand. Look…” Sam lifted both Jack’s and Dean’s hands up so Jack could see the thing taped to his hand. “See? I’m not taking anything out or sticking something in. I’ll just take this off…” He took the tube from the part on his hand and put a new one on.

“Nothing more. I won’t even have to touch that again.”

Jack nodded, feeling more than a little embarrassed, as Dean placed their hand’s back on the mattress and Sam attached the bags to the tube.

“That’s it?” Dean sounded vaguely disappointed. “What now?”

“Now we wait.” Sam pulled up the chair and sat down. Three pairs of eyes were looking at him, but he only talked to Jack. “We don’t know how long it will take. You’re one of a kind.”

It was getting harder to get air enough through to keep his fight against the coughing going. He needed rest. Cas must have seen the signs, he’d seen it quite a few times by now. The angel held on a little tighter to Jack’s hand and rubbed his forearm slowly with the other hand. He nodded silently and smiled and Jack gave it his best effort to return it before he lost consciousness.

* * *

“How are we even sure it is TB?” Dean’s voice didn’t wake him but it was the first thing he heard and he sounded angry.

“His breathing is clearly better. I’ll say that’s a pretty clear sign.”

“You pumped him full of antibiotics, that could make _anything_ better.”

Jack took a deep breath and savored the moment. He didn’t remember when he’d last gotten that much air in his lungs.

“Dean. You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t know how he got it. But who knows if it has been latent in him since Apocalypse World? All I know is, that right now he’s getting better and that you are fighting it.”

“I’m not fighting it, I just want us to make sure…

“Sure of what, Dean?! We have a list of seventy-three possibilities and a list three times that long we’ve ruled out. We are already doing everything. No one is taking the win before it’s there.”

The silence spread and Jack could hear Cas’s breathing. He was still on the bed the warmth on his hand indicated that to, but he didn’t want to wake up completely yet so he didn’t move and Cas wasn’t either. Sam and Dean must have been in the hall way. He couldn’t hear them moving around.

“Dean…”

Sam’s voice were calmer now.

“I promise. No one is stopping until we’re sure.”

He heard footsteps and then a chair moved and the mattress tilted. Someone was sitting opposite Cas again.

Jack took another deep breath before opening his eyes and looking up at Cas and Dean.

“Hey, kid. How are you feeling?”

Sluggishly, Jack lifted his hand and eventually made it far enough to take of the mask.

“Better. How…” He suppressed a small cough. “How long have I been sleeping.”

Sam appeared standing next to Dean. “Fifteen hours.”

“Fif…” Jack stopped and just stared at the three men.

“Yes. Fifteen hours and eleven minutes.” Cas straightened his back and Jack realized that Cas hand been right there the whole time. “You seem to be doing better now though.”

“Feel better…” Jack coughed. A real cough this time, not one of those week barks.

“Good but what do you sat that we keep this on for a little longer?” Sam reached down and placed the mask on Jack again. “Do you need anything for the pain?”

Jack got the feeling that Sam wasn’t really asking and to be completely honest his chest did still hurt. It was probably what had woken him up in the first place. He nodded and before he knew it Dean had his hand, ready for Sam to push in the drugs next to the others already flowing.

“You’ll be fine Jack.” Dean’s thumbs rubbed the skin next to the white tape covering his hand.

“You think so?”

Jack didn’t have any doubt that Sam and Cas were sure that everything was fixed. Cas had almost gotten back to his normal color and Sam’s voice was easy to read. Dean was the one who always had an eye out for the next bad thing, and that seemed pretty goo to be prepared for right now.

Dean smiled and nodded. “Seeing you awake and talking like this... Yeah, I’m sure. You just take the time you need to rest. I don’t know how anyone could need more sleep after fifteen hours, but you still look like crap.”

Jack smiled, but when he saw how Sam sighed deep and shook his head at his brother, he chuckled. It ended up in a small cough. It actually felt good being able to cough properly again. Sam sat down and Dean didn’t seem like he was going to move, so Jack acknowledged that for the moment all there of them would stay. He looked at Cas and with his smile in sight he fell asleep, this time on purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment for me, if you made it to the end of this.


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